** Divine Dark Night of the Soul **
I, too, would like a word with God on the eve of life’s most important battle. The Bhagavad Gita is one episode among many in the epic poem Mahabharata. In Gita, we find our hero Arjuna despairing at the impending carnage and seeking advice from his God companion Krishna. Through this dark night of the soul, the conversation meanders to many ethical and moral issues, resulting in the text becoming one of the holy scriptures of Hinduism.
If you accept the right premises, there is no better counterpart for a morality discussion than God. This Arjuna and Krishna begin a takedown of consequentialism, questioning our mortal ability to make moral calculations * We know not whether their victory or ours be better for us 2:6 * Krishna also asserts that right-intent trumps right-results. * Do thy work in the peace of Yoga, and free from selfish desires, be not moved in success or in failure. 2:48 * I might not fully agree with this take, but I can appreciate the clear framing and disagreement.
To me the most interesting aspect of Gita is the focus on clear minded action, beyond even pure intent. * The follower of this path has one thought and this is the end of his determination, but the many-branched and endless are the thoughts of man who lacks determination. 2:41 * It’s not just that distraction (Rajas) is annoying, but distraction and busy-ness remain active impediments to the divine. *Sattva, Rajas, Tamas - light, fire, and darkness - are the three constituents of nature. They appear to limit in finite bodies the liberty of their infinite spirit. 14:5 * These concepts are most familiar to me in Buddhist teachings, and resonate. For Krishna, self-control, if not pointed in the right direction is actively destructive. * When self control is self-torture, due to dullness of the mind, or when it aims at hurting another, then self-control is of darkness. 17: 19 *
Next is a jedi-like* focus on inner peace, which I appreciate: * Without contemplation there cannot be peace, and without peace can there be joy? 2:66 * and an acknowledgement of how difficult the path of inner peace really is: “* The mind is restless, Krishna, impetuous, self-willed, hard to train: to master the mind seems as difficult as to master the mighty winds. 6:38 *
Overall, Gita contains a high density of worthwhile ideas, wrapped in packaging familiar to readers of the old-testament and the Quran, and with a lyrical flow, highly recommended.
** 73rd book of 2022 **
*I’m sure the inspiration flowed in the opposite direction, but writing in 2020’s America, Star Wars has gained the upper hand over ancient texts for cultural relevance.